Relationship Wellness and Business
What is relationship wellness? There are many components often included such as trust, respect, feeling safe to express yourself, feeling valued, core value alignment to name a few.
What do you list when you think of a healthy relationship? And to what type of relationship are referring when you create your list? Many folks often think of an intimate relationship, and of course, we want to know our boundaries, “musts”, values and deal-breakers when evaluating our intimate relationships. AND, do you apply this thinking and process to business relationships?
In your business, have you ever defined your “musts”, values and deal-breakers? Toxic business relationships can not only create a very unhealthy and unsafe environment for team members, but they can also be the downfall of a business. Who wants to hire a team that brings along conflict and tension? Not many folks I know.
If this isn’t something you've considered, I invite you to take some time, as you are finalizing your 2022 plans (or go back for a review if you've already done 2022’s plan), and create your own list of what are the values and frameworks for a healthy business relationship are for you.
Start with listing all types of people you work with. What I mean here is, do you have employees, or contractors, or people with whom you collaborate? You might need a separate list for each of these folks, AND you’ll have items that appear on every list.
Once you’ve done this for yourself, if you have a team that you lead, ask to create boundaries and guidelines with this team.
Don’t forget to set some ground rules before this conversation begins (perhaps start with “leave egos at the door”, which includes yours as the leader, and maybe add my favorite “no jerks allowed” policy).
In many larger companies, there is an HR department to help with these types of processes. BUT, in the solopreneur space, it’s usually just you. So, make your list. What do you value in relationships? You’ll be surprised that once you’ve created this list, it can help with efficiency in other areas of business.
How can having a healthy business relationship framework create time efficiency? Well, take the collaboration request, for example. Many people are looking for collaborations to grow their businesses. Once you know what you are and aren’t willing to support and work with, you’ll make these decisions much quicker. I was recently asked to collaborate with a sportswear company. Upon first inspection, I didn’t see any diversity on their website (it was all white men with 6 packs). Diversity, equity, and inclusion are part of my core values and my “musts” in my relationships. It was very clear to me that we didn’t align, and therefore really easy to send a thanks-but-no-thanks email. Time saver!
If you’re having trouble getting this process started, message me with “relationship wellness” in the subject line (deanna@deannalangfordcoaching.com), I would love to connect!
Have a fabulous week filled with healthy relationships!
Deanna